BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhuanet) -- The current visit of Kuomintang (KMT) Vice President Chiang Pin-kung is the first sign of a dialogue between the KMT and the Communist Party of China (CPC), said Chen Yunlin, director of the CPC Central Committee's Taiwan Affairs Office, Wednesday.

Chen threw a welcome banquet in honor of the visiting KMT delegation, which was held at the prestigious Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, in central Beijing.

Chiang's visit, entrusted by KMT President Lien Chan, "has inaugurated the first sign of a dialogue between your Party and our Party," said Chen, who welcomed the KMT delegation in his office .

Chen spoke highly of Chiang's visit for remembering heroes and martyrs at a time when "compatriots across the Straits are longing for common development and prosperity."

Chiang also spoke at the dinner party, saying that the delegation has completed its journey smoothly, thanks to the high-level reception during its tours in Guangzhou and Nanjing.

After the banquet, Chen and officials in charge of the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Agriculture, the General Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine, and the General Administration of Customs held talks with the KMT delegation on cross-Straits economic and trade issues.

In a related development, Zhu Peikang, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, said, Wednesday, that his Party welcomed the visit of the KMT delegation.

Chiang's visit is an important one which is "focused on the common interests of the people on both sides and the promotion of the cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation," Zhu said.